


District Nine

by Deonara2012



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Gen, Mind Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deonara2012/pseuds/Deonara2012
Summary: Everything was white, until it wasn't, and Mingi didn't know what to think about these changes.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13
Collections: Whole New World





	District Nine

**Author's Note:**

> Based loosely on the MV for District 9 by Stray Kids

The world had been white for as long as Mingi could remember. They wore white, the eight of them, everything around them was white and even, when they walked - stood - outside, even the bushes were white. He didn't know why he was certain that they weren't supposed to be, although he no longer had any concept or any word for Green.

Until, one day, outside - because they had to have the fresh air and the sun, even if it wasn't real - he caught sight of a flower. Reaching for it the way he always did, they all did, pretending (at least, he pretended) an interest, because interest meant more time, it slowly faded into a brilliant color he no longer had the word for. Or the concept for. He stared at it, not sure what it meant, what had happened. It was soft, too, unlike the other flowers and leaves he'd touched, soft and delicate beneath his hand. It didn't make sense.

A whistle sounded, and he turned with the others, walking in measured steps down the cement path and into the building they were kept in. Lived in. Were kept in? that made even less sense. It took more than he thought possible to not look back, to try to catch sight of that flower, it's brilliant color. It was... just beautiful.

He woke the next morning, dressed automatically, and the word red came into his mind. Red. That's what color the flower was. Red. And yellow. The leaves around it were green, except the further away, the more... white they got. it was weird. He didn't let on how things had changed, his body and mind on automatic because that's how things went. He'd been doing this for... how long? He didn't know. He was afraid to find out, because that meant... that would mean he'd lost that much time, and he didn't think he could take that.

The others looked like... he must have. Dull. Dead. Vacant. That's the word, vacant. It wasn't comfortable, so he avoided looking at them, probably the best thing he could do. He stood in line, always between San and WooYoung, aware vaguely of Yeosang and Jongho, with the others too far away to see comfortably.

They'd lined up against the wall for the morning breakfast - a pill that gave them all the nutrients they needed, as far as food went - and as the machine scanned the bar code on his wrist, he stared aimlessly across at the opposite wall, also white, and he was so tired of white and so ready for... something else, anything else, and the color of eyes and sky and hair and the sound of laughter. It was so quiet here. Nothing to be heard but beeps and the sound of shoes as the man who fed them walked with his wheeled cart. That didn't even make noise, not a thing, and Mingi wondered why he'd never noticed the silence before. It was unnerving, and he wanted to .... he wanted to hear something. Music. 

Music. That thought occupied his mind for hours. He let his body go on automatic, because he could, while he contemplated what that meant, and why he wanted it, and what it would sound like. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken, and it was... different. He couldn't remember what his voice sounded like, and he didn't dare even whisper in his own room, a minuscule cell that held nothing but a bed, a tiny closet he couldn't even get into, and a chair. Not that he needed more, they weren't allowed to stay in their rooms except to sleep. And he knew, somehow, that someone watched them. And listened, and monitored everything external. And maybe some things internal, too, but not his thoughts.

He hoped.

They lined up again for lunch and the scan to register them, and this time, the pill was a different kind, still with the nutrients, but also, he suspected, the time they got their drugs. So... why wasn't it working anymore?

The man pushing the cart crossed in front of him, and for an instant, Mingi caught his eye.

The man winked.


End file.
